Working But Poor - The Middle Class in Crisis

Cyclo

March 1996 •Vietnamese

Follows a young cyclo driver on his poverty-driven descent into criminality in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City. The boy's struggles to scratch out a living for his two sisters and grandfather in the mean streets of the city lead to petty crime on behalf of a mysterious Madame from whom he rents his cyclo.

The March

May 1990 •English

A group of several thousand Africans migrate westward across northern Africa and sail across the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe. Their message is: "We are poor because you are rich."

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary

November 2019 •English

A feature-length documentary about the film Galaxy Quest and its legacy, celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary.

Kudumbasthan

January 2025 •Tamil

Naveen's relationship with his parents becomes strained after he marries a oppressed-caste girl. Though they eventually reconcile, his sudden unemployment puts him in a difficult position. As financial pressures mount, Naveen must navigate societal challenges and personal struggles to regain stability and rebuild harmony within his middle-class family.

India Cabaret

January 1985 •Hindi

A documentary exploring the "respectable" and "immoral" stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay.

Grill

September 2023 •Norwegian

Tara is denied electricity bill support by Social Services, who tells her to simply get a free grill instead - a task that leads Tara into uncomfortable situations. Inspired by true events, "Grill" offers a satirical look at how a rich country in Scandinavia deals with poverty.

Do I Sound Gay?

July 2015 •English

What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.

Lawn Dogs

November 1997 •English

In the affluent, gated community of Camelot Gardens, bored wives indiscriminately sleep around while their unwitting husbands try desperately to climb the social ladder. Trent, a 21-year-old outsider who mows the neighborhood lawns, quietly observes the infidelities and hypocrisies of this overly privileged society. When Devon, a 10-year-old daughter from one family, forges a friendship with Trent, things suddenly get very complicated.

The Children's Train

October 2024 •Italian

In late 1940s Italy, a mother makes the difficult decision to send her son to the north, where he catches glimpses of a new life away from poverty.

When a City Rises

April 2021 •

Behind the gas masks of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, the often very young activists are just as diverse as the youths of the rest of the world. But they share a demand for democracy and freedom. They have the will and the courage to fight – and they can see that things are going in the wrong direction in the small island city, which officially has autonomy under China but is now tightening its grip and demanding that ‘troublemakers’ be put away or silenced. Amid the violent protests, we meet a 21-year-old student, a teenage couple and a new father.

Anna Karenina

January 1948 •English

Stefan and Dolly Oblonsky have had a spat and Stefan has asked his sister, Anna Karenina, to come down to Moscow to help mend the rift. Anna's companion on the train from St. Petersburg is Countess Vronsky who is met at the Moscow station by her son. Col. Vronsky looks very dashing in his uniform and it's love at first sight when he looks at Anna and their eyes meet.

Mi Vida Loca

June 1994 •English

Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.

Mall Girls

September 2009 •Polish

Shopping malls - today's place of creating desires. Best jewelry, clothes, shoes. Unaffordable by young girls, but they "work" to get themselves sponsors for new items.

Dodes'ka-den

October 1970 •Japanese

This film follows the daily lives of a group of people barely scraping by in a slum on the outskirts of Tokyo. Yet as desperate as their circumstances are, each of them—the homeless father and son envisioning their dream house; the young woman abused by her uncle; the boy who imagines himself a trolley conductor—finds reasons to carry on.

Now, Voyager

October 1942 •English

A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.

Die Hunde der Mächtigen - und eine Katze

September 2024 •German

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media

November 1992 •English

A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.

Murder at the Country Club

September 2023 •English

The corrupt activities at a prestigious country club are uncovered by an assistant manager and now her life is in danger.

A town without flies

June 1950 •Japanese

A teaching film for social studies, which was developed as a new educational subject in 1947. At an elementary school in Hokkaido, children have started a fly extermination campaign to improve school hygiene. In order to eliminate the causes of flies, the entire town is working to improve the sanitary environment. The short was filmed with the cooperation of Mizukaido Elementary School in Joso City and is the first film in the "Social Studies Teaching Film System" by Iwanami Film Productions.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

September 1917 •English

Behind in the mortgage on Sunnybrook Farm and barely managing to feed seven hungry mouths, mother sends young Rebecca off to Riverboro to be raised by her wealthy Aunt Miranda. The little girl is treated like a prisoner by her strict Aunt, yet she gamely does her best to get an education. When spoiled girls at school mock the spirited Rebecca as "missy poor-house," she soon makes them come to eat their words. Despite many difficulties, Rebecca manages to help the less fortunate and spread joy in Riverboro, dreaming that her reward will come when she is "all growed up." This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion.